Logging arrests

By Kath Gannaway
ARRESTS have been made at Toolangi as a campaign to stop logging at the Gun Barrel and Freddo coupes on Sylvia Creek Road enters its third week.
Toolangi resident and chair of Healesville Environment Watch Inc (HEWI) Steve Meacher was arrested at the coupe on Monday morning along with another protester.
Another man was arrested on Friday afternoon after spending 24 hours, 40 metres above the ground and preventing logging work on the coupe.
Mr Meacher was charged with failing to leave a public safety zone when ordered to by a DSE officer and with hindering an authorised officer. He was bailed to appear at Seymour Magistrates’ Court on 1 September.
The Wilderness Society claimed on Monday that logging had taken place on only two days due to protest action and, along with Toolangi residents opposed to the logging renewed calls for a moratorium.
The Wilderness Society has called on the Premier Ted Baillieu to intervene to protect the Sylvia Creek forest which they say is critical habitat for the endangered Leadbeater’s possum and other wildlife and contains pre-1900 trees.
Mr Meacher told the Mail his arrest followed attempts by him to draw a DSE report received over the weekend, and dated 29 July, to the attention of the arresting DSE officer.
“We received this report over the weekend recommending further surveys on this coupe and stating the possibility of trees pre-1900 being distributed throughout the coupe,” Mr Meacher told the Mail after being bailed.
He said the report confirmed their concerns about inadequate VicForests surveys and supported their calls for a moratorium.
The report is in response to surveys done by Toolangi resident Bernie Mace as part of on-going surveys by environment groups.
It states, in part, that “the identified trees appear to be pre-1900 and additional hollow-bearing trees may be present throughout the site”.
It recommended that VicForests undertake further surveys of the Gun Barrel and Freddo Coupes.
DSE however said the report, although only approved and signed off by Simon Smith, DSE Director of Biodiversity on Friday, and sent out on Sunday, is redundant.
A DSE media adviser, who declined to be named, said DSE had checked the Gun Barrel coupe and found some protected trees in the western part of the coupe, which he said would not be harvested.
He said DSE also observed no Leadbeater’s Possum Zone la habitat as part of the check which, according to the report, took place between over a three-and-a-half hour period on 18 July.
He said VicForests has advised them the additional surveys had been completed, had confirmed that there is no Leadbeater’s possum habitat within the coupe and had assured DSE that all protected trees would not be harvested.
Mr Meacher told the Mail however, environment group members, including ecologists, had continued their own survey work after the weekend and had documented further trees they say should be protected.
“We know there are many more trees in there and it needs to properly surveyed,” he said.
He said while some trees appeared to be marked, there were many more that were not marked through out the coupe.
“They continue to say Central Highlands is ’39 regrowth, but they have confirmed the Kalatha tree in this area is from the 1905/06 fires, and much of this coupe is from that time as well,” Mr Meacher said.
“We need a halt to this until valid surveys can be done,” he said.
The Mail spoke last week with VicForests about environment group accusations that its survey methods don’t stand up to scrutiny. Story page 5.